Ousting Squatters Makes No Sense

Tess and Freddie (see Mike Burkett's touching story in the Aug. 22 issue of the Roundup) have been evicted by the Forest Service from the paradise they carved for themselves in the national forest south of Payson with the admonition that they leave it as they found it. Yet the Forest Service continues to trade large portions of the national forest to land developers who are expanding increasingly farther into the forest with asphalt and concrete. Does this make sense to you? It makes no sense to me.

If Thoreau had been forced to give up his squatter's rights at Walden, I might conceivably have been denied one of the most profound aspects of my literary education. Tess and Freddie, I am sure, have much to teach us concerning gardening with a limited supply of water, along with the art of landscaping.

Onward and upward, Tess and Freddie. Would that I might have had the opportunity to meet you and help in a more proficient camouflage of your creative work against the prying eyes of helicopter pilots.